|
Continued from Page 1.
I can only hope that more of our Pulitzer poets and big-money winners will eventually dare to write verse we can enjoy reading. I further hope that those who publish academic journals will abandon their arrogance. And, finally, I wish that those outside the universities will realize that a year or two of study, no matter where it's done, is not too much to prepare for the benefits of becoming a published poet. Those things granted, we may yet see the two worlds of poetry become one.
In the meantime, there's always the small press.
|
Ed Note: I asked Russ to send me a sample of his poetry to run with his article. What he sent follows - an excellent example of blank verse! Not only is the meter perfect throughout the poem, but the imagery is crystal clear. This poem shows why Russell E. Spooner is one of the finest poets in the small press today.
|
|
TO THOSE I'LL LEAVE BEHIND ONE DAY
Russell E. Spooner, Rehoboth, MA.
Please say no prayers for me when time at last
shall brook no more postponements of my end.
This comes to all, and ever did I choose
these paths I've trod without a backward glance.
So if you would, just hum a tune instead,
some bawdy song, reminder of a past
wherein I reveled with my friends long gone,
and would, today, speak much of poetry.
For in these later years I've found that verse,
composed with care and drawn from deepest thought,
can generate within another's heart
what makes of distant strangers caring friends.
Just like the ships that pass in darkest night,
a poet's work must steer no wrongful course,
but stand, a beacon bright upon the shore
of each emotion captured in our soul.
So this I ask of those whose words I read;
just make it clear, that I may understand
the glories, hurt, and hopes of which you write,
and give due honor where it's most deserved.
I care not how you learned this craft, or where.
What matters is the reaching and the touch,
and when you're called a "poet" be impressed,
for this is more than multitudes can claim.
|
|
